Protective and/or decorative cover systems, including a flexible cover and apparatus for releasable securement of such covers to a structure, are well known, and have been used, for example, for covering an opening in a material receiving structure, such as the cargo area of pickup trucks (where such covers are generally known as tonneau covers), boats and the like (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,639,033). Such apparatus heretofore known and/or utilized for securement of such covers have included utilization of snaps, tie downs, Velcro material, and matable channel and rail arrangements for securing the cover to the structure to be covered.
Covering systems heretofore known and/or utilized have not been completely successful, however, in providing such a securement apparatus which is durable, which evenly spreads stresses exerted on the cover when secured, allows the cover to be easily and quickly taken on and off the structure, allows for convenient storage of the cover and access to the structure without entirely removing the cover from the structure, provides for stability in wind where mounted on movable structures, prevents sagging of the cover when secured, is fittable to a multiplicity of differently sized structures, which is attractive with the cover off and provides protection against damage to the portion of the structure to which the apparatus is attached. Further improvements in such covering systems could therefore still be utilized.